Editing Cloud Strife (section)

===Further development===
====''Advent Children'' characterization====
[[Image:Cloudac1.jpg|thumb|350px|Cloud was redesigned for the 2005 film ''[[Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children]]'' and had his Buster Sword replaced with the pictured Fusion Swords and bike Fenrir.]]
For ''Advent Children'', Nomura agreed to direct the project largely because of his attachment to Cloud's character.<ref name="twointerview">{{cite web | title = Interview with Kazushige Nojima and Tetsuya Nomura from FLAREgamer. | url = http://flaregamer.com/b2article.php?p=109&more=1 | publisher=FLAREgamer | date = October 10, 2005 | access-date = July 5, 2008}}</ref> Although Nomura stated that Cloud was a more positive character in ''Final Fantasy VII'' than in ''Advent Children'', he did not believe that such an "'upbeat' image of him is what stuck in the minds of the fans", and the script was written to explain why Cloud returned to a state of mind "consistent with the fans' view of him".<ref>{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 6 | language = ja, en}}</ref> Nomura describes Cloud's life as peaceful but, hurt by the losses he experienced during the original game, one which he grew scared of losing.<ref>{{cite AV media |year=2005 |title=Distance |medium=DVD featurette |publisher=Square Enix |language=ja |minutes=22}}</ref> Blaming himself for things outside of his control, Cloud, Nomura elaborated, needed to overcome himself.<ref>{{cite AV media |year=2005 |title=Distance |medium=DVD featurette |publisher=Square Enix |language=ja |minutes=27}}</ref> In contrast to other heroes, who Nomura sees as typically possessing character defects amounting only to quirks, he believed Cloud's weakness to be humanizing.<ref>{{cite AV media |year=2005 |title=Distance |medium=DVD featurette |publisher=Square Enix |language=ja |minutes=28}}</ref>

Nojima viewed the theme of the story as one of forgiveness, which he believed required hardship; by taking up his sword and fighting, Cloud struggles to achieve it.<ref>{{cite AV media |year=2005 |title=Distance |medium=DVD featurette |publisher=Square Enix |language=ja |minutes=26}}</ref> Nojima sought to establish Cloud's withdrawn personality by depicting him as having a cell phone, but never answering any calls. He originally intended for Aerith's name to be the last one displayed in the backlog of ignored messages that appear as Cloud's cell phone sinks into the water, but altered the scene because it "sounded too creepy".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files|publisher=Square Enix|year=2006|isbn=4-7973-3498-3|editor-last=SoftBank|page=8|language=ja, en}}</ref> The wolf which Cloud imagines "represents the deepest part of Cloud's psyche" and "appears in response to some burden that Cloud is carrying deep in his heart",<ref name="86Wolf">{{Cite book | year=2006 | editor=SoftBank | title=Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | language=ja, en | publisher=Square Enix | isbn= 4-7973-3498-3 | page=86}}</ref> vanishing at the film's end. Nomura cites one of the film's final scenes, in which Cloud smiles, as his favorite, highlighting the lack of dialogue and Cloud's embarrassment.<ref name="smile">{{cite AV media |year=2005 |title=Distance |medium=DVD featurette |publisher=Square Enix |language=ja |minutes=29}}</ref> The scene influenced composer [[Nobuo Uematsu]]'s score, who grew excited after coming across it in his review of the script, commenting on the difficulty players who had finished ''Final Fantasy VII'' would have had imagining Cloud's smile.<ref name="smile" />

Nomura sought to make Cloud's design distinctly different from the other characters.<ref name=":1" /> About thirty different designs were made for Cloud's face, and his hair was altered to give it a more realistic look and illustrate that two years had passed since the game's conclusion.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 16 | language = ja, en}}</ref> The staff attempted rendering Cloud based on the game's original illustrations, but concluded that doing so left his eyes unrealistically big, which "looked gross".<ref>{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 73 | language = ja, en}}</ref> Further revisions were made to Cloud's face after completion of the pilot film, which featured a more realistic style.<ref>{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 75 | language = ja, en}}</ref> In contrast to his hair, Cloud's clothes were difficult to make in the film.<ref name="prologue">{{cite book |title=Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Prologue |year=2005 |isbn=4-08-779339-7 |language=ja | publisher=Square Enix}}</ref> After deciding to give Cloud a simple costume consistent with the concept of "clothes designed for action", the staff began with the idea of a black robe, eventually parring it down to a "long apron" shifted to one side.<ref name=":3" />

Cloud's weaponry was based on the joking observation that because his sword in the original game was already enormously tall, in the sequel, he should use sheer numbers.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 68 | language = ja, en}}</ref> Referred to as {{nihongo|"The Fusion Swords"|合体剣|Gattai Ken}} during the film's development,<ref>{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | editor-last = SoftBank | page = 78 | language = ja, en}}</ref> early storyboard concepts included Cloud carrying six swords on his back,<ref name=":2" /> although the idea was later modified to six interlocking swords. While the idea was not "logically thought out" and the staff did not think that they could "make it work physically", it was believed to provide "an interesting accent to the story".<ref name="reunion">{{Cite book | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Reunion Files | publisher = Square Enix | year = 2006 | isbn = 4-7973-3498-3 | page = 77 | language = ja, en | editor = SoftBank}}</ref> Cloud's new motorcycle, {{nihongo|Fenrir|フェンリル|Fenriru}}, was designed by Takayuki Takeya, who was asked by the staff to design an upgraded version of Cloud's "Hardy-Daytona" motorcycle from ''Final Fantasy VII''. The bike got bigger as development continued, with Takeya feeling its heaviness provided an impact that worked well within the film.<ref name="making">{{cite video | people = Tetsuya Nomura (Director) | date = April 25, 2006 | title = Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Distance: The Making of Advent Children | medium = DVD | publisher=Square Enix}}</ref> In the original game, Cloud's strongest technique was the {{nihongo|Omnislash|超究武神覇斬|Choukyūbushinhazan| lit. "Super-ultimate War-god Commanding Slash"}}. For his fight against Sephiroth in the film, Nomura proposed a new move, the {{nihongo|Omnislash Ver. 5|超究武神覇斬ver.5|Choukyūbushinhazan ver.5}}, a faster version of the original Omnislash. The staff laughed at the name of Cloud's move during the making of it, as Nomura was inspired by a sports move from ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'', whose protagonist, [[Tidus]], explained the addition of a more specific name would make people more excited.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=FF7AC 特別限定BOX ADVENT PIECE:LIMITED|year=2005|medium=[[DVD]]}} Studio: [[Square Enix]].</ref>

Themes expanded upon in the [[director's cut]] ''Advent Children Complete'' include Cloud's development with links to other ''Final Fantasy VII'' media in which he appeared.<ref name="JSblood">{{cite web|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/22/tgs07-advent-children-gets-dirty-on-blu-ray/ |date=September 22, 2007 |last=Yoon |first=Andrew |title=TGS07: Advent Children gets dirty on Blu-ray |work=[[Joystiq]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |access-date=August 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629204519/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/22/tgs07-advent-children-gets-dirty-on-blu-ray/ |archive-date=June 29, 2011}}</ref> To further focus on Cloud's [[character arc|growth]], Square decided to give him more scenes when he interacts with children. Additionally, the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth was expanded by several minutes, and includes a scene in which Sephiroth impales Cloud on his sword and holds him in the air, mirroring the scene in the game where he performs the same action. The decision to feature Cloud suffering from blood loss in the fight was made to make his pain feel realistic.<ref name="famitsu">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Famitsu]] |publisher=[[Enterbrain]] |title=Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete |language=ja |date=March 2009 |pages=29–30}}</ref>

====''Remake'' handling====
In the making of the fighting game ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy|Dissidia: Final Fantasy]]'', Nomura stated that Cloud's appearance was slightly slimmer than in ''Final Fantasy VII'' because of the detail the 3D of the [[PlayStation Portable]] could give him. While also retaining his original design and his ''Advent Children'' appearance, Cloud was given a more distinct look based on his ''Final Fantasy VII'' persona.<ref name="smash"/>

Cloud's initial redesign for ''Final Fantasy VII Remake'' was initially more different than the original, but was later altered to more closely resemble Nomura's original design.<ref name=":9" /> Early on in ''Final Fantasy VII'', Cloud crossdresses to find Tifa, and Nomura noted this event was popular with the fans and reassured that the remake would keep this part. On the other hand, the character designer stated that their final design was not decided yet.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gamerant.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-feature-cross-dress-315/|title=Final Fantasy 7 Remake Will Feature the Cross-Dressing Scene|date=December 8, 2015|publisher=GameRant|access-date=March 12, 2018|archive-date=June 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625075730/https://gamerant.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-feature-cross-dress-315/|url-status=live}}</ref> Kazushige Nojima worked on making Cloud's interactions with Tifa and [[Barret Wallace]] natural. Despite fear of the possible result, Nojima also wanted players to connect with the character once again.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gematsu.com/2019/11/final-fantasy-vii-remake-details-turks-avalanche-cloud-abilities-chocobo-aerith-and-barret-visuals|title=Final Fantasy VII Remake details Turks, Avalanche, Cloud abilities, Chocobo & Moogle summon, more; Aerith and Barret visuals|date=November 25, 2019|publisher=Gameatsu|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=November 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127215933/https://gematsu.com/2019/11/final-fantasy-vii-remake-details-turks-avalanche-cloud-abilities-chocobo-aerith-and-barret-visuals|url-status=live}}</ref> Kitase further claimed that in the remake they aimed to make Cloud more inexperienced and informal than in ''Advent Children'', due to him not being fully mature.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://futurefive.co.nz/story/final-fantasy-vii-remake-preview-developer-interview|title=Final Fantasy VII remake preview & developer interview|work=FutureFive New Zealand |publisher=Future Five|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703174341/https://futurefive.co.nz/story/final-fantasy-vii-remake-preview-developer-interview|url-status=live |last1=Price |first1=Darren }}</ref>

Co-director Naoki Hamaguchi noted that since the original game offered the option for the player to decide Cloud's interest in a female character, he wanted the remake to retain this in the form of an intimate conversation when splitting from the main team.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/article/final-fantasy-vii-remake-interview-yoshinori-kitase-naoki-hamaguchi/|title=FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Creators Explain Episodic Release|publisher=Nerdist|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=April 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413205848/https://nerdist.com/article/final-fantasy-vii-remake-interview-yoshinori-kitase-naoki-hamaguchi/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The theme song "Hollow" is meant to reflect Cloud's state of mind, with Nomura placing high emphasis on the rock music and male vocals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.frontlinejp.net/2020/04/17/ffvii-remake-interview-with-nomura-tetsuya-and-kitase-yoshinori/|title=FFVII Remake: Interview with Nomura Tetsuya and Kitase Yoshinori|website=Frontline|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=July 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701202906/https://www.frontlinejp.net/2020/04/17/ffvii-remake-interview-with-nomura-tetsuya-and-kitase-yoshinori/|url-status=live}}</ref>